Arsenal secured their 10th Premier League clean sheet of the season on Saturday afternoon as they defeated Leicester City 1-0 in a comfortable outing for Mikel Arteta’s defence
Arsenal kept their 10th Premier League clean sheet of the season against Leicester City (Image: (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images))
Arsenal made it two wins in two on Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over Leicester City. Gabriel Martinelli’s second-half strike handed the Gunners their 18th league win of the season to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to five points.
Mikel Arteta has seen the perfect response from his side after they went four games without a win. Last Wednesday’s crucial defeat to Manchester City had seemed to turn the title race on its head but the north Londoners have reacted in the best possible way with two consecutive away wins.
The Gunners are currently on course to lift their first league title since 2004 and the feeling of optimism amongst the congested fan base continues to grow as the fixtures tick over. Following the win in the Midlands, Arsenal have only 14 league games remaining – eight of them taking place at the Emirates Stadium.
Keeping Leicester quiet – a side that had scored eight goals in their previous three – means Aaron Ramsdale and Arsenal’s back four have kept 10 clean sheets in the Premier League this season. The Gunners’ backline have been instrumental this season but they had failed to keep a clean sheet since the north London derby win over Tottenham last month.
After conceding three against City and two at Aston Villa last weekend, Arsenal’s defensive security was there for all to see at the King Power Stadium. Leicester failed to register a shot on Ramsdale’s goal all afternoon and only managed one shot all game – Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s wayward strike in the final 20 minutes.
And according to The xG Philosophy on Twitter, the Foxes created an xG of only 0.01 against Arsenal – the lowest number of the statistic since the account started sharing the xG numbers on social media since February 2017.
Whilst many don’t see the benefit of monitoring xG, the statistic will certainly leave Arteta purring. The Gunners still have to face the likes of Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland before the end of the season and keeping clean sheets will be crucial in their attempts to win the league.
Source: dailylifeworld.com
